Gospel Reflection for The 20th day of February in the year of Our Lord, 2025

Mark 8:27-33

27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And in the way, he asked his disciples, saying to them: Whom do men say that I am? 28 Who answered him, saying: John the Baptist; but some Elias, and others as one of the prophets. 29 Then he saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Peter answering said to him: Thou art the Christ. 30 And he strictly charged them that they should not tell any man of him.

31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed: and after three days rise again. 32 And he spoke the word openly. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him. 33 Who turning about and seeing his disciples, threatened Peter, saying: Go behind me, Satan, because thou savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men.

I want to focus on part of today's first reading:

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them:

“Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.

Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth

and all the birds of the air,

upon all the creatures that move about on the ground

and all the fishes of the sea;

into your power they are delivered.

Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat;

I give them all to you as I did the green plants.

You see, many very foolish people in our time make false claims that Jesus was a vegetarian or even a vegan, even though the Bible clearly states otherwise. Not only did Jesus eat the Passover lamb, but His first act to prove that He is truly alive body and soul, is to eat fish. Moreover, Saint Paul states in 1^st Timothy:

Now the Spirit manifestly saith, that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies in hypocrisy, and having their conscience seared, Forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful, and by them that have known the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

This may seem to be a minor point given the deeply spiritual meaning of today’s Gospel. But, it must be said because most of those who have made such claims to me lately are either students or graduates of Catholic universities! Under the banners of “social justice” and “environmental justice” radicals are indoctrinating Catholic youth with false teaching. They claim that eating meat is somehow inhumane. They not only deny that God gave animals and fish to man for food, but they deify the creation, claiming that man is like a cancer on the planet. They claim that nature is pure and holy. This becomes a kind of political paganism that is in absolute opposition to the Word of God and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Truly, we are made stewards, and must take care of the earth that God gave us. We are the “crown of creation” and nature is subject to man, not man to nature. From Psalm 8:

5 What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?

6 Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: 7 And hast set him over the works of thy hands. 8 Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields. 9 The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea.

As one who grew up on a farm and who is certified in Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture, Horticulture and is a Master Gardener, I have spent far more time learning about the ways of nature and the production of food than anyone who teaches at a Catholic university…. Our universities are not exactly known for their Ag programs! I can prove their claims to be false. It takes far more acreage and inputs to produce plant food to feed one person than it does animal food to feed 10 people (or more). I am adamant that livestock should be raised humanely and well cared for, and that does not always happen in our modern model of “factory farming.” But, the fact remains that even in this flawed system, one cow can feed more than 100 people and only one life is taken. In harvesting an acre of soybeans, countless millions of insects, rodents, birds, etc. are killed by tilling and agricultural chemicals – poisonous insecticides, herbicides and fungicides kill not only all the visible creatures in the field but also the microscopic life in the soil on which so much depends. You may not care about worms and bugs, but they are essential to all life on earth as part of the natural system God created. Then comes the harvest in which larger animals are killed, such as mice, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, more birds, etc. Then there are the inputs of not only the environmentally toxic agricultural chemicals, but the petro-chemicals used in making fertilizer, the fuel used in large farm machinery, the trucks that transport the soybeans, the factories that process them, the plastics in packaging, the shipping, the storage, etc. etc. God intended for that one cow, for instance, to eat grass in natural pastures and its manure to fertilize the grasses and feed the worms and insects. Man cares for the cow and ensures its health, and from it takes milk and meat. Some of the cow’s manure can also go to fertilize a vegetable garden, enriching the soil so that chemical fertilizers are not needed. Natural systems produce no waste and are regenerative, building in productivity annually and not degrading as does the modern soy bean (corn, etc.) field. That is environmentally sound; the vegetarian/vegan diet is not.

While this may seem a side issue to today’s Gospel, it is very important. This environmental/social justice nonsense that is poisoning the minds of Catholic youth is turning them against the teachings of the Bible and the Church. It is part of a liberal/progressive ideology that is toxic in our systems of Church, education and politics. It includes teaching in favor of birth control and abortion, as it is the natural conclusion if one believes that man is detrimental to nature. It promotes homosexuality, trans-genderism and socialism. It is atheistic at its core and must be stopped! All priest, professors, primary school teachers, etc. who teach what is opposed to orthodox Catholic doctrine must be stripped of all authority and removed from their positions. They and their ideologies are the true cancer in the Body of Christ.

We need more faithful Catholics who have large families and eat fish on Friday and fewer “social and environmental justice warriors” who scream that meat and fish are “murder” and who advocate for population control!

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Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK3M1WDZ

and

Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic